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“What about you? How did you get into acting?” She knew all about his “big break” but she was curious to hear what inspired him to act.

“Actually, I was helping design and build sets for this small play a friend was in. Turns out, that friend broke his leg a week before the play opened, so he couldn’t perform. It was such a small production that there were no understudies. Since I’d been there every day working on the sets, the director thought I might have picked up a few of his lines after hearing them over and over. He was right. And the rest is history. A lot like yours—I was bitten by the bug, you know?”

Lily nodded. She couldn’t imagine doing anything else as a career.

“So many actors do this to become ‘movie stars,’ ” Daniel continued. “But I just want to act.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as the sun made its final descent and darkness blanketed the garden. Lily was reluctant to go, but she had more work to do before calling it a night.

With a deep sigh, she looked over at Daniel. “I should head back inside. But I’ve enjoyed this conversation.”

Daniel smiled and pulled out another cigarette and his lighter. “It truly has been my pleasure, Lily.”

Lily stood, and Daniel offered her his hand one more time. She shook it gently. “Take care of yourself.”

“You, too,” she heard Daniel say, just above a whisper. She swore she saw a look of sadness cross his features for just a second.

Her heels seemed loud as she walked away. She was torn between total disbelief at what just happened and unreal happiness. The kind that caused a smile so wide it made her cheeks ache.

“Hey, Lily!” Daniel yelled.

She stopped and backed up a couple of steps. Meeting his gaze, she nearly stumbled as he flashed a heart-stopping lopsided grin and said . . .

“Boxer briefs.”

Lily started the next morning with a cup of coffee on the balcony of her hotel room. Looking out over the city of Los Angeles, she made a silent wish—or maybe it was more of a promise—that she would come back someday to cover another junket and see more of the West Coast. Although she felt sad to leave California, a bigger part of her felt completely energized. The experience had been a rush like no other, and she was already jonesing for her next hit.

She glanced down at the gardens three stories below. It didn’t take long for her eyes to follow the same path she had taken the night before. And there, sitting on that very same bench, was a familiar figure. She’d forgotten that he’d be back today for the international segment of the junket.

A moment later, he noticed Lily and smiled up at her, taking his lit cigarette from his lips and lifting his coffee toward her. Lily grinned and bowed her head slightly, doing the same with her cup.

Before going back inside, she sighed and made one more wish.

I hope this isn’t the last I see of Daniel Brighton
.

Chapter Seven

By the time Lily arrived at home, videos of the press conferences had already circulated online. After she unpacked, she turned on her computer to send in the second batch of stories she’d written. And then the lure of the videos proved to be too much.

She watched the director’s conference first, quickly finding the exact spot where she’d spoken up—it was the third question asked. She smiled to herself as she heard him answer. He was one of the coolest cats Lily had ever met. He spoke loudly and passionately while gesturing with his hands in an apparent effort to get everyone else to feel that same passion. And a scarf of some sort always decorated his neck, no matter what else he was wearing. His love for this movie and the enjoyment he took in bringing it to the public were palpable, and something she wanted to convey when writing about him.

The video of the press conference with Daniel’s South African costar turned out to be much more interesting than she expected. His answers were as sincere and witty as she remembered, but it was a man standing off to the left of the stage who surprised her.

The green eyes were unmistakable. They belonged to the same man who had spoken to her so coldly outside the elevator of the Four Seasons. And like that encounter, his gaze was once again focused on Lily with laser-like intensity. Only . . . it was a different kind of intensity.

Something about it made her uncomfortable. She wondered why he was looking at her in such a way—and why he had treated her so rudely in the lobby. Despite her distaste for his behavior, the heat of his stare made her blush, and she wondered how a man she didn’t even know could cause such a reaction in her.

Lily poured herself a cup of coffee before settling in to watch the footage of Daniel’s press conference. She expected to feel a sense of déjà vu as his face popped up on her screen. After all, she was there in the second row. But as she watched, it struck her how much of it she didn’t remember. His answers to the press’ questions were funnier and even more thoughtful than she recalled. She had paid attention, sure, but it was easier to catch these things now that she was removed from the situation.

At the four-minute mark, she heard herself ask her first question. She was impressed by how
together
she sounded. Her body and mind had been buzzing like a swarm of bees, but her voice was calm, focused, determined, and professional. Seeing his response was surreal. He, too, had been calm, focused, determined, and professional. And his eye contact never wavered. Part of her wanted to shout “That’s me he’s looking at and talking to!” at the top of her lungs. Another—the larger—part wanted to keep it to herself. Being caught in Daniel Brighton’s gaze wasn’t something everyone got to experience, and she wanted to relish being the center of his attention for those few minutes.

In the two weeks between the press junkets and the release of
Borderlines
,
Lily’s life returned to normal. Or at least normal for her. She was busy at work, catching up with what she’d missed while she was gone, and with the website, finishing all her articles from the events in Los Angeles.

She spent what free time she did have with Maggie and Colette, filling them in on all the details of her trip, but put in long hours all the way until the weekend the movie premiered.

Fortunately, it was a long-standing tradition in Lily’s office that everyone use a photo of their “happy place” as their computer’s desktop background. Since they spent so much time there, it was meant to be visual inspiration—a little something that could make them smile throughout the day.

Some of her coworkers had pictures of their family on their desktop. Lily’s nephews and niece were on hers for a while. Others had photos of beaches, or some other warm, tropical place they dreamed of visiting. For the past year, Lily’s had been a shot she had snapped during her most recent visit to New York City. In it, the Laura Pels Theatre stood with its name in lights across the top of the screen. Just below that, in the left third of the photo, was a poster for
A Streetcar Named Desire
, featuring Daniel Brighton’s face.

But now that had changed. Now, Lily’s “happy place” was a vivid macro shot of blue hydrangeas. What her coworkers couldn’t see was a wrought-iron bench sitting across from those particular flowers. Lily knew it was there, though. She’d snapped the shot from that very bench just before leaving Los Angeles. And it made her smile whenever she looked at it.

On the Friday the film came out, Colette, Maggie, and Lily had a quick dinner at their favorite Mexican restaurant before heading the theater to see Daniel on the big screen. Of course, it was the second time for Lily, but she was eager to see it again. In all honesty, she found it difficult to review a movie after just one viewing. She knew that initial impressions were important, but she liked to study movies much closer than one time allowed. Particularly when she was distracted by the face of the male lead.

Her review had been posted on FilmInsanity.com that morning. It didn’t yet have many comments, but Lily figured that Daniel Brighton’s name would be enough of a draw to bring in significant page views. She’d also sent a link to some of the fan sites, which would draw even more traffic. Her review touched on the acting performances, the cinematography, and the pacing of the movie. She’d given it four stars out of five, indicating just how much she liked it.

Colette and Maggie felt the same way and were quickly swept away in the tale. After the lights came back up, the friends spent a couple of hours discussing the film over drinks at a local wine bar. It was late when they got home, but they all enjoyed the time and the conversation.

Lily had a bit of a Saturday morning ritual. First, it was coffee and toast as she curled up with whatever magazine had made its way to her mailbox that week. (She had several subscriptions—in the name of journalistic research, of course.) Then, it was grocery shopping. When the groceries were put away, she checked her FilmInsanity.com e-mail. Most of her content was posted on Fridays, so it was the perfect time to address any concerns or answer any questions.

At first, Lily didn’t notice anything unusual in her in-box. There were a handful of spam messages, a review request for a movie coming out in two months, and an update from Devon on the stories he needed from her during the next week. When she had dealt with those messages, she noticed one more.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Review

Lily,

Looks like you didn’t give up the goods! I thought you said I was “convincing” and “authentic”? But those words are nowhere in your review. So either you were lying . . . or you really do prefer me on stage.

Seriously, though, your review was fantastic. Thank you for all the kind things you said about me and the film.

Take care.

DB

Lily stared at the screen for ten minutes before her screensaver kicked in, jolting her out of this small trance.

Could it be . . . no! Seriously? Can’t believe . . . maybe . . . possibly? Really???
Lily read the message again, unsure of what to think.

She’d told him what website she wrote for. And she’d told him when the review would be posted. And her e-mail address was right below her name on the post. And whoever wrote it mentioned exactly what she had said to Daniel.

Hey, anything was possible
, Lily thought.
There’s only one way to find out
.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Your review of my review

Daniel,

Well, well, well. Someone was paying attention! If you want to get technical about it, you’re right. I didn’t use “convincing” or “authentic.” But I thought, silly me, that “captivating performance” and “living up to his potential” would suffice. So sorry to have disappointed you, and I hope you will accept my most humble apologies. (You can’t see my smirk as I type this. But it’s there. Trust me.)

I’m genuinely glad you liked it. It means a lot to me. You take care as well.

Lily

She took a deep breath and clicked the send button.

Lily knew the temptation to keep checking her in-box would be too great, so she finished her tasks and then shut down her computer.

Once a day
, she told herself sternly,
that’s all you’re allowed to check
.